2025 Beginners
Your First Session:
We welcome beginners to attend the first club session (at any of our locations) each school term to have a go and see if fencing is a good fit for them. From there, they can join the club and will learn fencing skills through structured coach-facilitated sessions, and free-bouting with their clubmates.
Please contact the club by text (0428 057 473) before attending, and include:
The student’s name and pronouns, and age if attending the Tuesday kids & teens’ club.
An email address for the club to send details to.
The session (Mon, Tue, or Sat) you intend to come to.
Beginners need to bring:
Full-length pants with some stretch.
Comfy, non-marking shoes (sneakers, etc).
A drink bottle.
VDFC provides equipment for beginners*.
Beginners are required to take their club jacket with them and wash it between sessions during the term.
After one term of fencing, members buy a glove. (Approx. $35).
After two terms of fencing, members buy a fencing mask. (Approx. $95).
After three terms of fencing, members buy a jacket. (Approx. $95).
Members are obviously welcome to buy equipment sooner, and the coaches can provide information about gear and a range of suppliers.
Beginner courses in 2025 will be limited, to allow for progression of all fencers throughout the year. Please contact us to register your interest in attending a beginner course at one of our locations.
We do not have the capacity to train absolute beginners who start attending mid-term.
*Beginner courses are suitable for ages twelve and above.
We run sessions for ages 10 - 14 on Tuesdays. We may welcome younger students if their behaviour is respectful and safe, and they will enjoy sessions that focus on fencing skill acquisition and are not as games-based.
Please contact Head Coach Avery Holderness-Roddam for information.
Ready to Have a Stab at fencing?
Fencing improves balance, agility, problem-solving skills, confidence, fitness and so much more.
You are never too old to start learning the sport, and we love welcoming newcomers.
The Basics:
There are three fencing swords:
Epee: Score with the tip of the swords and the whole body is valid target. Epee fencers can score double points, when they hit each other simultaneously.
Foil: Score with the tip of the sword, and the torso and bib of the mask are valid target. Foilists follow rules of priority and only one fencer can score a point at one time.
Sabre: Score with any part of the blade through primarily cutting actions. Everywhere above the hips (excluding the hands) are valid target, and Sabreurs also fence using rules of priority - only one fencer may score a point at a time.
The field of play:
Fencers ‘bout’ on a ‘piste’, or aluminium strip which is 14 m long, and 1.5-2 m wide.
The piste is earthed out so fencers cannot score a touch on it.
What to expect at your first session:
You should bring a drink bottle, comfy and clean sneakers, and full-length pants to every session.
Sessions always start with a group warm up, followed by footwork practice.
You will be introduced to the On Guard stance so you can fence with balance and ease of direction-changing. Once you can stand on guard, you will learn to Advance forward and Retreat backwards, so you can chase your opponent, and you can avoid being hit by them.
Next you will learn to keep-distance; using your steps forward and backwards to keep enough space between your opponent and yourself to be just out or reach, whilst being close enough to launch your own attacks.
Finally it’s time to kit up and learn the safety rules so you can get started with the blade skills.
We get beginners started with the Epee at VDFC, so you will learn how to hold the sword, how to not poke anybody’s eye out with it, and how to aim and hit your opponent.
From there you will gradually learn parries (blocks), ripostes (hitting one you’ve blocked), hitting whilst pushing your opponent’s blade away, counter-attacks, feints, drawing attacks so you can lure your opponent in then hit them, and a range of other fencing skills to add to your fencing tool kit.
We get newcomers fencing on their first session if they feel comfortable doing so, but if you’d rather just practice on a target board, that’s okay too.
Bring a friend!
It can be a bit nerve-wracking turning up to a club where you’re new to the sport and don’t know anybody.
We are very friendly, but we also understand that you might like to bring a friend along and we warmly encourage that!
Social or Competitive?
The majority of fencers fence for the fun of learning new skills, for the fitness aspect, and for the like-minded friends they make at the club.
We also have competitive fencers and we run tournaments throughout the year for those fencers who wish to enter.
We treat all club members equally and do not give preferential treatment to a member because they are competitive. Every member contributes to the lovely fencing community that we value greatly. We DO make sure to provide plenty of training opportunities to all members who wish to hone their skills.
